Second Monday of Advent – Isaiah 41:13, 17-20

 

For I, the Lord your God,

    hold your right hand;

it is I who say to you, “Do not fear,

    I will help you.”

When the poor and needy seek water,

    and there is none,

    and their tongue is parched with thirst,

I the Lord will answer them,

    I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

I will open rivers on the bare heights,

    and fountains in the midst of the valleys;

I will make the wilderness a pool of water,

    and the dry land springs of water.

I will put in the wilderness the cedar,

    the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;

I will set in the desert the cypress,

    the plane and the pine together,

so that all may see and know,

    all may consider and understand,

that the hand of the Lord has done this,

    the Holy One of Israel has created it.

 

According to the World Health Organization, 785 million people lack access to basic drinking-water services and 2 billion people only have access to contaminated water sources. The majority of the people who aren’t able to get clean drinking water live in low income countries. In other words: the world’s “poor and needy” do not have water. 

 

The reading from Isaiah opens our eyes to a number of things. When God speaks through the prophet, God speaks about those who are in need. God acts in order to help those who are disproportionately affected by injustice and lack of access to the basic necessities of life. 

 

God cares for those whom others forget. God cares for those who do not yet have what they need, and God promises to provide those things. 

 

We recognize that we have often felt forgotten ourselves. We feel that we don’t have all that we need, whether it’s material necessities or depth of relationship, and these feelings cause unrest within us. In Advent, we identify these feelings, own them and rest in the promise that God cares for all people who are poor and in need.  We choose to rest, trusting that the basic necessities will be provided by a God who “holds our right hand.”

 

  • Have you ever felt like you were forgotten or overlooked?

 

  • What did it feel like to be forgotten?

 

  • What comes to mind when you read that God provides for those who are in need?

 

  • What is one simple action you can take to participate in meeting someone’s relational, physical or financial needs today?